Scottish Technology Industry Survey highlights industry optimism
The Scottish Technology Industry Survey published yesterday paints an improving outlook for Scotland's digital technology industries. The Survey, published by ScotlandIS in partnership with 9-20recruitment, provides an annual health check for the information and communication technology sectors.
Two thirds of companies surveyed are optimistic or very optimistic about the outlook for the year ahead. 54% reported a rise in turnover during 2010 and the vast majority of companies (79%) expect sales to grow this year with only 11% expecting sales to decline.
Smaller businesses (200 employees or less) are the most optimistic about sales growth, expecting to increase their sales figures by up to 20% while very large companies anticipate growth to be in single figures.
However it's not all plain sailing, and the industry seems well aware of the need for caution in a fragile economy. Working capital facilities are still in short supply, and cash flow continues to be a challenge for many businesses with one in three reporting this as an issue.
Encouraginly there is an increasing appetite to sell internationally and 63% of companies plan to increase headcount this year with one in 10 expect to increase staff numbers by more than 20 in 2011.